In general, a good toaster answers some basic consumer needs: it toasts evenly, is easy to clean, is wide enough to accommodate bagels and French bread, and is easy to use. Even if more traditionally isn’t expected from a toaster, Magimix delivers an appliance that is even easier to use, browns toast and other oddly shaped bread products even more effectively than most toasters, and gives users more control over the food they’re cooking. It gives an answer to the question, why is it that all other appliances have windows or clear containers, besides toasters? We can tell you that it’s just plain fun to watch food through the process of cooking, and it brings a new element to toasting – eliminating the often burnt pieces of bread.

In terms of features, the Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster offers several tech-savvy options that aren’t always featured on competitors’ lists. In addition to the regular toast darkness settings, there is a Bagel button, which toasts only one side of what you put in the toaster, be it a bagel or a heel of a loaf of bread that you don’t want crispy on the back. A Reheat button acts more like the Warm setting of an oven as opposed to a broiler that browns the surface, and it’s great for reheating your toast so that the margarine melts on top. Defrost is perfect for thawing frozen waffles and French toast. These settings are simple buttons on the front of the toaster.

Even though it’s a marvel, this toaster is as easy to use as the least sophisticated model out there. With the traditional pop up lever to bring up your toast, this toaster also only utilizes one dial for all the settings, eliminating confusion brought about by as many as 5 knobs on other toasters. Until you figure out which numbered settings work best for you, you can simply watch your toast until it’s done!

Cleaning the toaster is also simple and straightforward. Just wipe off the outside with a damp towel and clean the crumbs using the pull out tray on the bottom of the toaster.  To clean the inside of the toaster windows is a bit more tricky, but only needs to be done occasionally. Once your toaster is unplugged and completely cool, you can use a damp foam bottle brush to clean it. Just be sure not to drip water into the toaster.

We really enjoyed the viewing feature of the Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster, but it did result in a couple of drawbacks to its overall design. For toast to be visible on both sides via outside windows, there can only be one slot for toast. This slot can fit in 2 pieces of regular bread with room to spare, meaning it’s the same size as a traditional two slice toaster. However, the Vision Toaster will not make four slices of toast at once, which could cause an issue for a larger family. Other than that, we really had no functional issues with this toaster. 

The sleek, modern design of this toaster, along with its entertaining process of browning bread, will make it a focal point on your countertop. Magimix is even introducing three new colors of the toaster: black, ivory, and red, which retail for $199.99 at Williams Sonoma. In addition to these new colored options, you can also purchase the standard stainless steel here at Williams-Sonoma.